Just over five minutes into Super Bowl Sunday’s Hofstra-UNC Wilmington women’s basketball game Pride head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey raced across the court toward the direction of senior center Jess Fuller, who lay on the floor grimacing with pain. Fuller was helped off the court by the training staff and suddenly Hofstra was left without its tallest payer , who just one game ago became the program’s all-time leader in blocked shots.
With Fuller missing the Pride stepped up their games in a 73-58 win to give Hofstra (13-10, 6-5 in Colonial Athletic Association) its third win in four games. The 6'4 Fuller has a severally sprained ankle and her status for the remainder of the season is uncertain.
“I saw their eyes a little bit when she went down so that is why I ran out there so quick, “said Coach Kilburn-Steveskey of her initial worries that Fuller’s injury would cause the rest of the team to panic. “All she was caring about was us getting that [win] and I think we rallied around that situation.”
Stepping up large in Fuller’s absence were freshman forward Shante Evans with 28 points and senior guard Sam Brigham, who tallied 16 on 6-9 shooting. Sophomore guard Nicole Capurso was also in double figures with 12 points on four three pointers. Red-shirt sophomore had a solid all-around game with nine points and nine assists.
“We just picked each other up,” said Brigham of how the Pride responded once Fuller went down. “I feel like we really stepped up as a team.”
Hofstra will try and continue its recent momentum with a home game against first place Virginia Commonwealth this Thursday with a special Noon tipoff in honor of “Family Fun Day.”
2/7/10
Hofstra offense hits 2nd half wall in home loss to Northeastern
As Hofstra men’s basketball head coach Tom Pecora stepped to the microphone for his post game press conference Saturday following a 75-55 home loss to Northeastern one would have expected much anger and frustration to be expressed after the Pride were outscored 45-23 in the second half. Instead the ninth year Hofstra head coach showed a relatively calm demeanor despite just watching his team shoot 25 percent to allow the Huskies to run away with an easy win on the Pride’s home floor.
“There are teams in the past I might ride real hard for two days but I think we’re too far down the line for that with this group,” said Pecora of why he does not plan to yell and scream at his players on the practice floor after they only scored 12 points in the first 16 minutes of the second half to quickly turn a 32-30 halftime lead into a rare blowout loss at the Mack Sports Complex. “They have to have some pride in the fact that somebody came in here and beat their tales pretty good.”
“There are teams in the past I might ride real hard for two days but I think we’re too far down the line for that with this group,” said Pecora of why he does not plan to yell and scream at his players on the practice floor after they only scored 12 points in the first 16 minutes of the second half to quickly turn a 32-30 halftime lead into a rare blowout loss at the Mack Sports Complex. “They have to have some pride in the fact that somebody came in here and beat their tales pretty good.”
2/4/10
Hofstra men's lacrosse gears up for pre-season scrimmages without injured Kevin Ford
Coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances there are high expectations for the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team this year but the Pride offense will be faced with a tough challenge to start 2010 when it is without one of its key scorers during the first month of the season.
Junior attackman Kevin Ford, the Pride's third-leading scorer a year ago, broke his foot during pre-season conditioning and will be out until at least the end of March after having surgery in mid January. Junior Stephen Bentz will fill in for Ford at attack during the beginning of the season and head coach Seth Tierney has been happy with how the Massapequa High School graduate, who tallied six goals last year, has stepped up to the challenge so far.
Tierney will get a first chance to view Hofstra’s attack minus Ford in game action this Sunday when the Pride plays two scrimmages in the Carrier Dome against defending national champion Syracuse and Division II power Le Moyne. These two scrimmages along with pre-season tilts at Rutgers on Feb. 13 and home versus Yale on Feb. 20 will also allow star Canadian attackers Jay Card and University of Denver transfer Jamie Lincoln to start to gel into what Tierney hopes will be an explosive offense.
Junior attackman Kevin Ford, the Pride's third-leading scorer a year ago, broke his foot during pre-season conditioning and will be out until at least the end of March after having surgery in mid January. Junior Stephen Bentz will fill in for Ford at attack during the beginning of the season and head coach Seth Tierney has been happy with how the Massapequa High School graduate, who tallied six goals last year, has stepped up to the challenge so far.
Tierney will get a first chance to view Hofstra’s attack minus Ford in game action this Sunday when the Pride plays two scrimmages in the Carrier Dome against defending national champion Syracuse and Division II power Le Moyne. These two scrimmages along with pre-season tilts at Rutgers on Feb. 13 and home versus Yale on Feb. 20 will also allow star Canadian attackers Jay Card and University of Denver transfer Jamie Lincoln to start to gel into what Tierney hopes will be an explosive offense.
2/3/10
Hofstra athletic trainer heads to Haiti to help earthquake victims
Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
Last month's Haitian earthquake that has killed over 200,000 people touched many people on the Hofstra University campus but especially Pride assistant athletic trainer David Riviere, who lived in Haiti until he was 14 and has many family and friends still living in the now ravaged Caribbean country. The 2007 Hofstra graduate, who works as an athletic trainer primarily for the Pride's volleyball and baseball programs, recently returned from a 10-day visit to his native county volunteering at a a hospital that took in many of the injured victims from the Jan. 12 earthquake that measured 7.1 on the Richter Scale.
Riviere, who moved from Haiti to Somerville, Mass. when he was 14, traveled to the earthquake-plagued region on Jan. 18 to deliver much-needed supplies to his many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends whose homes were badly damaged from what is considered one of the world's worst natural disasters to ever strike. After Riviere dropped off more than two-weeks worth of food and other supplies to his family and friends, he spent the vast majority of the remainder of his trip at a nearby hospital as a medical volunteer.
"It was humbling," said Riviere of his 10 day visit to Haiti in the wake of the Jan. 12 earthquake. "There is a lot of people in need over there."
Many of the victims Riviere cared for suffered broken bones and needed to have surgery. He said the most difficult task was informing patients who were starving without food for a days that they could not eat before having a surgery procedure because of medical reasons. "They were starving beyond belief," he said.
Riviere, who moved from Haiti to Somerville, Mass. when he was 14, traveled to the earthquake-plagued region on Jan. 18 to deliver much-needed supplies to his many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends whose homes were badly damaged from what is considered one of the world's worst natural disasters to ever strike. After Riviere dropped off more than two-weeks worth of food and other supplies to his family and friends, he spent the vast majority of the remainder of his trip at a nearby hospital as a medical volunteer.
"It was humbling," said Riviere of his 10 day visit to Haiti in the wake of the Jan. 12 earthquake. "There is a lot of people in need over there."
Many of the victims Riviere cared for suffered broken bones and needed to have surgery. He said the most difficult task was informing patients who were starving without food for a days that they could not eat before having a surgery procedure because of medical reasons. "They were starving beyond belief," he said.
1/31/10
Hofstra women's soccer star Diane Caldwell to play field hockey for Pride in 2010
Picture courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
On Nov. 6 when the Hofstra women’s soccer team’s 2009 season ended in heartbreaking fashion after a 2-1 overtime defeat to UNC-Wilmington it brought incredible heartache for senior defender Diane Caldwell, who suddenly saw her Pride career playing the sport she loved come to a close. The pain still lingers from that early November defeat on the turf of Northeastern’s Parsons Field but Caldwell’s Hofstra’s collegiate career is now being resurrected with a stick.
The Ireland native has earned a spot on Hofstra’s field hockey team and will play for head coach Kathy De Angelis in the 2010 season while she attends graduate school. Caldwell, who played field hockey for Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Balbriggan, Ireland, decided to workout with the Hofstra sticklers last spring and after impressing the coaches with her athletic play in the backfield has been added to the roster for the 2010 season.
“When my four years were up with soccer I was obviously a little disappointed because you don’t want it to end so soon but having [ a chance to play field hockey] gives me another year to enjoy and stay here at Hofstra,” said Caldwell, who played soccer for the Ireland National Team in 2008. “To go into a Division I program is not going to be easy by any means but it is a new challenge for me and I am just looking forward to it because it is these challenges that make life exciting.”
The Ireland native has earned a spot on Hofstra’s field hockey team and will play for head coach Kathy De Angelis in the 2010 season while she attends graduate school. Caldwell, who played field hockey for Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Balbriggan, Ireland, decided to workout with the Hofstra sticklers last spring and after impressing the coaches with her athletic play in the backfield has been added to the roster for the 2010 season.
“When my four years were up with soccer I was obviously a little disappointed because you don’t want it to end so soon but having [ a chance to play field hockey] gives me another year to enjoy and stay here at Hofstra,” said Caldwell, who played soccer for the Ireland National Team in 2008. “To go into a Division I program is not going to be easy by any means but it is a new challenge for me and I am just looking forward to it because it is these challenges that make life exciting.”
1/30/10
Delaware free throw struggles help aid Hofstra win
With 4:32 left in Saturday’s Hofstra-Delaware men’s basketball game and the Pride clinging to a 58-56 lead after leading by as many as 13 in the second half, the Blue Hen's Jamelle Hagins stepped to the foul line with a chance to knot the score. He would only make one his two attempts, which summed up Delaware’s day from the charity stripe that included 14 misses and was a huge factor in a 77-67 Pride victory.
Hofstra (11-12, 4-7 in Colonial Athletic Association) led wire to wire before a large crowd of 4,019 at the Mack Sports Complex but had Delaware shot better than 24-38 (63 percent) from the free throw line the game would have been far different. The Blue Hens (6-16, 2-9 in CAA) also struggled shooting from the floor (35 percent) but managed to stick around for much of the game before the Pride iced the game in the final minute from the free throw line to make the 77-67 final score a bit misleading. Hofstra allowed Delaware to stay in the game due in large part to shooting 43 percent from the floor and being outrebounded 41-36, including giving up 19 offensive boards.
“The longer you let teams hang around, you know they are going to come up with a run at some point,” said Hofstra men’s basketball head coach Tom Pecora of his team’s inability to put Delaware away earlier despite their shooting woes.
Hofstra (11-12, 4-7 in Colonial Athletic Association) led wire to wire before a large crowd of 4,019 at the Mack Sports Complex but had Delaware shot better than 24-38 (63 percent) from the free throw line the game would have been far different. The Blue Hens (6-16, 2-9 in CAA) also struggled shooting from the floor (35 percent) but managed to stick around for much of the game before the Pride iced the game in the final minute from the free throw line to make the 77-67 final score a bit misleading. Hofstra allowed Delaware to stay in the game due in large part to shooting 43 percent from the floor and being outrebounded 41-36, including giving up 19 offensive boards.
“The longer you let teams hang around, you know they are going to come up with a run at some point,” said Hofstra men’s basketball head coach Tom Pecora of his team’s inability to put Delaware away earlier despite their shooting woes.
1/27/10
Hofstra men's basketball breaks out of slump with blowout of UNC-Wilmington
The Hofstra and UNC-Wilmington men’s basketball programs have played in several classics including at least one overtime game every year since the 2006/07 season. Wednesday night at the Mack Sports Complex was not one of these memorable close games however as the Pride jumped out to as big as a 28 point first half lead and rolled to a 93-54 win to snap a five game losing streak.
“We haven’t had one of those in it feels like 100 years,” said Hofstra men’s basketball head coach Tom Pecora after the Pride picked up its first win since a 77-61 victory over Towson on Jan. 6 to improve to 10-7 and 3-7 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
After jumping to a 54-25 halftime lead Hofstra’s lead ballooned to as high as 42 in the second half with the Pride shooting 57 percent for the game. The 54 points in the game’s first 20 minutes was Hofstra’s highest scoring first half since Pecora took over as head coach in the 2001/02 season.
“We haven’t had one of those in it feels like 100 years,” said Hofstra men’s basketball head coach Tom Pecora after the Pride picked up its first win since a 77-61 victory over Towson on Jan. 6 to improve to 10-7 and 3-7 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
After jumping to a 54-25 halftime lead Hofstra’s lead ballooned to as high as 42 in the second half with the Pride shooting 57 percent for the game. The 54 points in the game’s first 20 minutes was Hofstra’s highest scoring first half since Pecora took over as head coach in the 2001/02 season.
1/24/10
Too much Delle Donne in Hofstra women's basketball loss to Delaware
Elena Delle Donne entered Sunday afternoon’s game with Hofstra as women’s college basketball’s fourth leading scorer and her versatile offensive skills were on full display for the 1,388 fans at the Mack Sports Complex. The 6’5 freshman sensation, who initially committed to national powerhouse Connecticut as the number one recruit in the country, scored 35 points including clutch back-to-back three pointers in the second half that paced the Blue Hens to a 71-65 win over the Pride.
“We were a little star struck for some reason,” said Hofstra women’s basketball head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey of how she felt her team responded to going up against someone of Delle Donne’s caliber.
With the loss to Colonial Athletic Association rival Delaware, the Pride drop into a three-way tie with William & Mary and Towson for sixth place in the conference standings.
“We were a little star struck for some reason,” said Hofstra women’s basketball head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey of how she felt her team responded to going up against someone of Delle Donne’s caliber.
With the loss to Colonial Athletic Association rival Delaware, the Pride drop into a three-way tie with William & Mary and Towson for sixth place in the conference standings.
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